Zoltan Almasi grabs Reggio Emilia trophy

half point ahead of the competition

Zoltan Almasi clinched the first place at the 50th Reggio Emilia, half point ahead of pack of players. We warned you before the event to pay attention to his games, and Zoltan made sure to fulfill the expectations. Three crushing wins with white pieces and six draws were enough for the trophy.

Winner: GM Zoltan Almasi

Key moment was in 8th round when Almasi beat David Navara. During the ETCC, Navara was employing Ruy Lopez Marshall, and when we asked him if he really believes it's possible to play for a win with this deeply explored system, he said he'll keep the answer for himself as professional secret. He is changing opening repertoire now, as he tried Zaitsev variation against Almasi. Nevertheless, Almasi was well prepared, and comfortably converted the advantage once he reached middlegame with opposite-colored Bishops.

Almasi quickly drew Vugar Gashimov, his only competitor, in the last round, while wins from Pentala Harikrishna and Hua Ni were good enough only for the 2nd place tie.

Decisive game: Navara - Almasi

Final standings:

1. Zoltan Almasi (HUN 2691) - 6.0
2-4. Pentala Harikrishna (IND 2668), Hua Ni (CHN 2641) and Vugar Gashimov (AZE 2663) - 5.5
5. Konstantin Landa (RUS 2678) - 4.5
6-7. David Navara (CZE 2656) and Viktor Korchnoi (SUI 2611) - 4.0
8-9. Mihail Marin (ROM 2551) and Sergey Tiviakov (NED 2643) - 3.5
10. Michele Godena (ITA 2535) - 3.0

Tournament website